Mothership
The mothership is a powerful protoss capital ship. Overview Motherships are mighty protoss support vessels, and are one of the most powerful warships in the protoss arsenal.2015-04-09, A Time for Templars: Protoss. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2015-04-10 Design Motherships are costly and time-consuming to produce. As a result, the protoss have begun constructing them in two stages, with the mothership core being the first step. The core itself can be used as a defensive and support weapon.Blizzard Entertainment. 2012-12-20. Mothership Core. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2012-12-21. Its hull, comprised of three slowly rotating wings, projects a tightly woven energy dome which allows for a life-sustaining atmosphere within the confines of the vessel, and turns harmful deep-space radiation into surplus energy for plasma shields and primary systems. The mothership’s core itself has a similar barrier whose sole function is to keep the crew on the rest of the ship safe from the powerful energies it generates. A single crew member can pilot the ship for simple warps. More complex operations require a crew. Capabilities ]] At the heart of each mothership is a huge khaydarin crystal infused with an incredible amount of psionic energy that quickly dissipates. By tapping into this energy, a mothership can warp or crack the very fabric of space-time itself. Once the mothership becomes fully operational, this dissipating power is absorbed by the wings and projected as a cloaking field that covers a wide area around the vessel. The mothership itself does not benefit from said field, but it renders nearby protoss forces, structures, and allies invisible to the naked eye. For combat, the mothership is equipped with a purifier beam which constitutes its primary means of defense, firing in controlled bursts against air and ground targets.2015-04-30, Mothership Science. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2015-05-01 The devastating power of a mothership can wipe out squadrons of enemy ships in the blink of an eye or lay waste to entire planets.Mothership. Accessed on 2008-03-30 Other aspects of a mothership's interior include a waking chamber for its commander, crew quarters and a med-bay. A number of escape pods are also featured.StarCraft II, mothership unit quotations History The motherships were designed by Juras,Kindregan, Brian T. "Mothership." (January 15, 2010). Blizzard Entertainment. Mothership Accessed 2010-01-15. and constructed during the protoss Golden Age of Expansion as deep space exploration vessels, leading armadas of protoss ships through space. The Templar Caste successfully petitioned for modifications; the final design included weapons and some were eventually converted into military command ships. The surviving motherships were not recalled at the end of the Golden Age. Most were left at the farthest reaches of protoss exploration as titanic monuments and holy shrines, commemorating an honored way of life and a proud period of history. The crews were placed in stasis, although it was expected the ships would not be needed again. High templar Rihod's mothership remained active. Its crew assisted lower-technology aliens who had been struck by a disaster.Zapotek, Ren (w), Noel Rodriguez (p, i). "Twilight Archon." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 3 (paperback binding), pp. 132-177. Tokyopop, July 14, 2009. ISBN 978-1427-80832-5. The Fall of Aiur ]] The zerg attack on Aiur during the Great War reversed forced a re-evaluation. The motherships were recalled to service by high templar Erekul. However, it was too late for the ships to alter the course of the war. Amongst the reactivated ships was Moratun, the original mothership and crewed solely by Juras. Moratun rescued zealots from a besieged colony before traveling to Aiur. The ship, and other empty motherships, arrived in Aiur's star system only after the Khalai evacuation to Shakuras. The ships were forced to find the Dark Templar homeworld by themselves. The fleet was manned by the few survivors that could be found. Rihod's mothership was not brought to Aiur, for fear it could be lost in combat. The motherships were reunited with the protoss during the Interbellum and taken over by the Templar Caste. Since their return from deep space, they have become an important part of the protoss war effort.Blizzard Entertainment. 2012-12-20. Mothership Core. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2012-12-21. Game Unit |gun1name=Purifier beams |gun1strength=6 |gun1attacks=6 |gun1ground=X |gun1air=X |gun1cool=2.21 |gun1range=7 |gun1upgrd=+1 |gun2name= |gun2strength= |gun2attacks= |gun2ground= |gun2air= |gun2cool= |gun2range= |gun2upgrd= |addons= |evolvesto= |produce= |allows= |research= |ability= |priority=20 |killscore=500 |makescore=250 |lostscore= |notes=A player may only have 1 mothership at a time. |structure= |hero= |campaign= |npc= |cancel= |nocat= |concatbott= |concattop= }} The mothership is a high-value support unit. Only one may be deployed at a time. It behaves like the Arbiter: it cloaks and recalls friendly units, and may temporarily disable units. The ship's long ranged attack allows it to contribute firepower from behind the front; it may also fire on the move. The mothership is the only unit able to survive a direct hit from a nuke. Vikings, corruptors, and void rays, are effective counters. It may also be hijacked by the infestor's neural parasite. The mothership is suited for late-game scenarios.2015-05-11, Legacy of the Void Beta: Balance Update Preview - May 11. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2015-05-21 However, its use in multiplayer is curtailed by its high cost, position on the tech tree, vulnerability to focus firing, low mobility, and relatively low damage output. Heart of the Swarm Legacy of the Void In the Legacy of the Void single-player campaign, the player acquires Tal'darim motherships that have significantly different statistics and abilities from the motherships available in multiplayer play. The normal mothership is not accessible in the campaign. Abilities *Time Warp (T): This ability is only available in Heart of the Swarm, replacing Vortex. It affects enemy ground units in an area, forcing them to move at half speed. It costs 100 energyBlizzard Entertainment. 2014-02-04. Heart of the Swarm Balance Update -- February 4, 2014. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2014-02-06. and lasts 10 seconds.Blizzard Entertainment. 2014-07-25. Heart of the Swarm Balance Update -- July 25, 2014. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2014-07-26. **This ability has a range of 9 and an area of effect of 3.5.Aldrexus. 2012-10-26. Balance Update #7 (10/26/2012). ''Heart of the Swarm Beta Discussion. Accessed 2012-10-26. Upgrades Mothership Core Heart of the Swarm Changes Quotations :See: StarCraft II Mothership Quotations Development Achievements Known Motherships *''Moratun'' *''Purifier'' *''Shield of Aiur'' *''Tal'darim Mothership'' Known Commanders *Hierarch Artanis *Executor Nyon *Commander Rihod *Juras Notes *The mothership's old "Planet Cracker" ability is based on the energy beam from the ship in the introduction video for StarCraft. That ship is the "conceptual anchor" for the mothership idea.Chris Metzen, StarCraft Legacy staff. 2009-04-03. SC:L Metzen Interview - Lore Exclusive. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-05-18.Karune, Dustin Browder and Samwise Didier. 2008-11-18. BlizzCast Episode 6. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2008-11-18. *''StarCraft: Frontline: Thundergod'' depicts motherships as taking part in the purification of Mar Sara.Knaak, Richard A. (w), Washio, Naohiro (p, i). "Thundergod." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 1 (paperback binding), pp. 48–93. Tokyopop, August 1, 2008. ISBN 1427-80721-3. This contradicts all other sources of information, which establish that motherships weren't recalled into service until after the Great War. References Category:Protoss starship classes Category:Transports Category:StarCraft II Protoss units